Two days after he announced “Pashmina March 2” by a “small number of people” for a “week to 10 days” beginning April 17, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has announced that “Ladakh’s Pashmina March” has been “suspended again”.
Wangchuk, who held a protest fast for 21 days in March seeking protection for the fragile ecology and local culture of Ladakh, had first announced a Pashmina March to Changthang on the border with China on April 7, but had subsequently called it off citing the “risk of potential violence”.
Here’s the story of Sonam Wangchuk and his activism in Ladakh.
Who is Wangchuk, and why is he protesting?
Wangchuk is an environmentalist, scientist, and innovator from Leh, who has raised concerns around ecological issues in Ladakh for the last three decades. Over the years, he has been the recipient of a large number of honours in India and abroad, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2018.
On March 6, two days after talks between the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and a High Powered Committee (HPC) from Ladakh reached an impasse, Wangchuk, along with some others, began a protest fast in Leh.
For 21 days, he survived only on water and salt, and slept outdoors in below-freezing-point temperatures. The fast, Wangchuk said, was his homage to the three longest fasts undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi for 21 days each in 1924, 1933, and 1943.
Wangchuk is demanding the inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for special provisions for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram, to help protect the fragile environment and culture of the Union Territory.
In daily video messages, Wangchuk has been repeating that protections under the Sixth Schedule were an election promise that the BJP made in 2019, and the Government of India has to keep its word. He has also included the “restoration of democracy” among the legitimate demands and aspirations of the region.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Universal Times Magazine staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
